


Luckless

by Sprytemark (orphan_account)



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Petstuck, This is kinda just for me, UFUT and Loophole-verse, because I wanted meowrails and petstuck
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-07-03
Updated: 2013-07-05
Packaged: 2017-12-17 14:19:40
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,562
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/868545
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/Sprytemark
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>She's tiny.<br/>But more than tiny, she's beat up.<br/>Nepeta Leijon came into the office early this morning, caught in a fight with another troll and losing badly. Many trolls have been treated and have moved on by now, but there's still a few that come in. She needs somewhere to stay and you, Jade Harley, have stupidly offered to do so.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> All right, this is a little fan work for a fan work. I read and loved Unwanted Free Ugly Troll (coldhope) and Loophole (saccharineSylph). Credit to you guys, keep writing!  
> I felt like meowrails. So, I indulged myself...  
> Also this is really in no way close to petstuck canon.

She's tiny.

But more than tiny, she's beat up.

Just a few minutes ago, you were in the middle of some very interesting paperwork. Right as you signed the bottom of a long page, the door to the clinic had opened and the bell chimed. One of your coworkers had bustled in, struggling to carry a huge cage meant for a labrador, or maybe a great dane puppy. You had helped her lift the cage into an examination room and onto a small table. You had expected to see a dog, because after all, that's what the kennel was for. Instead of a dog, though, you had looked inside to see a small, broken little troll.

You read her file. It explains she was locked in a fight with another troll when found, and losing badly. The resue team had to break the two apart, but only managed to sedate this one. The other fled before anyone could catch it. 

She has a few cracked ribs, a broken wrist, and a load of scratches and bruises all over her body, highlighted in a dull olive green color. Her gray skin is rough, and one of her pointed ears is ripped.  The troll is curled up in a huge kennel, squishing herself into a corner. She's asleep, a little pile of bones and bruises. You've treated a few trolls like her before, and you're sure you can do it again.

You open the kennel door carefully. Hesitating, you reach inside and pick her up. You're surprised at how light she is - it's like holding a big, warm feather. She fits inside your two large hands. With as much caution as you can muster, you place her on the table. The small troll is still sedated, but you don't know her personality. Just in case, you attach a bracelet to her thin wrist, confining her to the table space. She doesn't move from the position you set her down in, and you let her sleep. Instead, you prepare some antibiotics and bandages for her.

The door to your room opens. Ms. Piexes pokes her head in, her thick hair almost touching the floor.

"Dr. Z, will she be alright?"

"I'll do all I can. She will be fine." you say, and you believe it.


	2. Chapter 2

Your name is Jade Harley. 

You just barely moved yourself into a new penthouse closer to the city. It's nice: you have a living room, a kitchen, a bedroom, an office... Well, the office serves as a rifle room. 

You know quite a few of the people living here. You've almost got a stable job, working part time at a veterinarian office. You believe you have it pretty good. 

Your name is Jade Harley, and, like an idiot, you volunteered to take in a troll. 

\---

She's still asleep in the corner of her cage, every once in a while shifting her feet, her bandages making little shh-shh noises. Dr. Zahhak said as soon as you got to know her she could come out. He also gave you a notebook with specific instructions he had written on how to care for her. 

You're still pretty nervous as you put all your rifles and "toys" up on high shelves. Why did you decide to do this again?

Maybe it was because you were free, and Dr. Z asked you to. Or maybe it was because when you saw that little troll curled up there, you felt like a mother looking at her broken child.

Or something sappy like that. Either way, the next thing you knew you were driving home with a big cage in the back of your car.

Becquerel barks at you as you set the crate down on the couch. Crud... Ok. You shoo Bec into the kitchen. He whines in protest as you close the door. Well, we'll see how he does with your new housemate later.

All right. You open Dr. Z's notebook and look for any basic thing you have to so before she wakes up.

You read that trolls like to sleep in piles. Since you have time, you throw together a bunch of your stuffed animals. 

The last stuffed kitty squeaks onto the mound when you hear a shuffling from inside the kennel. 

"You awake?" You ask, and step over to the cage door. You're confronted by two yellow eyes staring at you from the very corner. 

"Hey," you whisper, so as not to scare the little troll. How does this work? Um. Going with how you would get familiar with a dog, you put your hand to the bars. The troll's pupils shrink into slits, and you tense, hoping you didn't do anything wrong. 

Slowly, she creeps up to your hand. After almost touching it with her nose, she lifts up her own hand, covered in bandages, and holds it a centimeter away from yours. She stares at you, and your eyes lock. Then she sits back like nothing happened and yawns. 

"Uh," you stammer. "Can, ah, can you talk?"

The troll girl looks up at you and makes a little "Chrrrrup" noise. 

"I talk. Little bit," she says softly. She speaks in broken English, and her voice is raspy. 

"All right," you say. You're going to have to teach her grammar. "Do you have a name?"

Her eyebrows knit together and her nose scrunches up. 

"Nepeta! My name." She grins at you, her little fangs pressing into her swollen lip. Her voice immediately became louder, and so did her attitude towards you. She expects praise for remembering her name, so you give it to her. 

"Good job, Nepeta."

"And? You?" She asks you, pushing her head against the bars and grabbing them with her tiny fingers.

"Oh. I'm Jade." You're tempted to stick out your hand for a handshake, by that's weird. Do trolls have handshakes?

"Jade!" Nepeta seems to have warmed up to you. She's really cute. Would it hurt to open the cage door? Maybe in a minute.

Nepeta suddenly looks down at her stomach. "Hungry," she mutters.

Well... What can you feed her? "Do you like meat?" You ask, because that's what Bec likes and you have lots of it. 

"Yes yes yes yes!!! Yeeeeees!" She trills. 

You consult the notebook. It says you can feed her anything you might eat, but small quantities for now and no strong seasonings. Well, you won't let those sharp fangs go to waste. 

You enter the kitchen, shutting the door behind you. 

"Move, Bec. Scootch!" Becquerel jumps at you, sniffing the new guest in your house. He barks. 

"Shoosh!"

Bec whines. You ruffle his ears around and walk over to the cupboard and get some unseasoned beef jerky. Your dog noses you, and you give some to him.

You squeeze out of the kitchen, barely closing the door on Bec as he tries to push his way out. When you come back to Nepeta's crate, she's jumping up an down like B- 

You really need to stop comparing her to Bec. She's not a dog, she's a little kid. You thought you went over this with yourself. John said... 

You poke a piece of beef jerky through the bars. Nepeta snatches it from you, giving it a thorough sniff-over before stuffing it into her mouth. 

"Hey, careful there," you warn. Nepeta spits out the mashed-up jerky. 

"Sorry." She takes the little ball of jerky-spit and picks out little pieces to eat. 

That wasn't what you meant, but you decide to let it go. 

She seems tame enough... You sit down and wait until Nepeta has finished her jerky wad. 

"I'm going to open the door now, ok? You can come out," you tell her. 

"Ok!!! Ok!!! Thanks you!!!" Nepeta squeals. 

You unlock the cage door and step back as you open it. Good thing, too, because Nepeta tears out of the crate and almost tears up your house. A couple feet out of her prison and she stops. 

"Owww," Nepeta mewls pitifully. You should have warned her that she still had injuries and it would not feel good to move around a lot. 

"Hey, careful there..." You say, and move to pick her up to put her on the couch.

Immediately as your fingers touch her skin, she jumps at you and hisses. Her tiny claws graze your cheek. 

"Gaaah!" You step backwards, surprised. Nepeta dashes to hide under your table, her eyes fixed on you, gaging your reaction.

"Kkhhhhhhhh..." You feel your cheek. It stings a bit when you touch it, but she didn't scratch hard enough to draw blood.

She has to know that's not ok, even if she isn't used to human contact. "Nepeta. That's not what you do," you chide her. Well, at least you know not to touch her. Not until she's comfortable with it, at least. 

Nepeta inches out from under your table. "I, ah. Um. Sorry." She apologizes to you, but keeps her distance. You plop down on the couch and motion for Nepeta to sit by you. You make sure to stay out of her space bubble as she jumps up onto the soft cushion.

You set another piece of beef jerky between you two. Nepeta looks at it, waits a moment, and then takes it. 

You sit there awkwardly. 

It takes a while before she speaks. 

"You alright."

That's close enough for you.


End file.
